Training a puppy while living in an apartment?

[Lauren and Kona]

Hello all! My little bundle of joy comes homes two weeks from today and I've been thinking about how I'll train her, living in an apartment. I'm afraid with her being so young (eight weeks) if I take her outside, where a lot of other dogs have been (we live in a very dog-friendly community) she could catch something and get sick. So I was just curious if anyone here has trained their puppy while living in an apartment, and how they went about doing it? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks guys!

[Jess & Stewart]

Lauren- Look up the Fresh Patch on Amazon. It's inexpensive and is real grown grass from CA. It comes in a large box, packed soil and all. All you do is take the lid off and set it up. I had this on my balcony (I live on the third floor of an apartment building) and used it for about 10 days. I got Stew when he was 9 weeks and he was ok to go outside at the second vet apt at 10.5 weeks. He had no trouble transitioning from the grass patch to outside. I took him close to my apt, to a patch of mulch, which is where he still goes today and he is 5 months.

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

I can also put my vote in for the Fresh Patch off Amazon. It's real grass grown without dirt, and shipped by FedEx. For the first month we had one delivered on a weekly basis to keep it fresh. One really cool think about them though is that they don't smell--it's really pretty fabulous!

Oliver had no issue transitioning between the Fresh Patch and real grass, he now even rings the bell to tell us he needs to go out and never has accidents.

[Lauren and Kona]

Perfect, thank you so much! Exactly what I was looking for!

[Marilyn Sucher Cohn]

Hello, I just put a deposit down on my minidoodle. Her mom was just bred and we're waiting to hear the good news. If mom is carrying, I'll get my puppy in early June.

Thanks so much for your suggestion about Patch of Grass. I too live on the 2nd fl of an apt. We've got a frat walking trail behind the building, but I can't use it until my puppy is protected. I wasn't sure what I could do. So, Lauren, a big thank you for asking your questions.

Happily awaiting Gracie,
Marilyn, I'm Boulder, CO

[Lauren and Kona]

Fingers crossed that everything works out for you!! I'll be sure to post here and let everyone know how the patch of grass works for Kona. Such a good idea!